New Bedford Idol winner: 14 and ready for lights of Broadway

NEW BEDFORD — When he sang "If You're Reading This" on the stage of Keith Middle School, Seth Sweeney had in mind a veteran of the Iraq war. That veteran was his father, Patrick Sweeney.

SIMÓN RIOS

NEW BEDFORD — When he sang "If You're Reading This" on the stage of Keith Middle School, Seth Sweeney had in mind a veteran of the Iraq war. That veteran was his father, Patrick Sweeney.

A month and a half later, the 14-year-old went on to win the 2014 New Bedford Idol competition with a song dedicated to his mom, singing "One Moment in Time," by Whitney Houston.

"I've always done things with music," said Sweeney, a seventh-grader at Global Learning Charter Public School.

"When I get older I want to ... be on Broadway and live in the city."

Winning the sixth annual Idol was no small feat. In a competition open to youth ages 14 to 22, Sweeney, one of the youngest, beat out a group of 28 contestants, singing his heart out over five nights and four musical themes.

Sweeney sang "Candle on the Water" on Disney night, followed by "If You're Reading This," by Tim McGraw for patriotic night. On the third night, dedicated to country music, he sang "The Dance" by Garth Brooks. On Frank Sinatra/Diana Ross night he interpreted Sinatra's hit "Strangers in the Night."

For the May 18 finale he sang against 17-year-old Michayla Hardy at the Zeiterion Performing Arts Center. Sweeney chose "I Hope You Dance," by Lee Ann Womack for the first song.

"I think it showed some stage presence," Sweeney said. "It showed that I could move around on stage because that was one of my biggest struggles."

The second song was Whitney Houston's "One Moment in Time," dedicated to his mother Tiffany Conchinha.

"It's amazing," Conchinha said of her son's victory. "It's really good to have it validated by people that aren't his parents, that he's as good as we think he is."

Conchinha said her son has long demonstrated musical talent. And though perhaps not as glamorous as the Z, there have been spaces to let it shine.

"We're like a big karaoke family," Conchinha said with a giggle. "There's karaoke machines at every party."

Conchinha said her son is very confident in every day life, especially for his age.

"He's the easiest kid ever," she said. "He's all around fantastic. I lucked out with him, that's for sure."

Patrick Sweeney is Seth's father. A security guard for Southcoast Health, Sweeney served two tours of duty in Iraq. Singing at Keith, Seth wore one of dad's old uniforms as he belted out the McGraw tune.

"I think he's got a passion for it," the elder Sweeney said.

"If you can do what you love and make a career out of it, great. There's so many people who just hate what they do every day."

Seth Sweeney has idols of his own. One is Broadway star Idina Menzel. Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac is also at the top of his playlist.

He's looking forward to returning to Show Camp in Dartmouth this August, and though things can change between 14 and adulthood, he says he wants to be in musical theater.

Sweeney is also one of the actors at SouthCoast Children's Theater, where he's been in two plays. In "Peter Pan" he played Chico the pirate, and in "Shrek the Musical" he played Lord Farquaad.

For winning the New Bedford Idol contest, Sweeney is entitled to attend a workshop at Berklee College of Music as well as to record a song at New Bedford's Studio 81.

Bruce Duarte Jr., who has run Idol since it was founded six years ago, said Sweeney won't be able to attend the Berklee workshop because he's not 16. Instead, he will likely get an amount of money equal to its value.

"He's so young and he has such a beautiful voice," Duarte said. "And he's such a gentleman — that's really what impressed me about him the most."

Duarte highlighted that Sweeney beat out all the older kids, as well as two other 14-year-olds. Despite his competitive spirit, Duarte said he was encouraging to the other contestants throughout the competition. (Asked about the Berklee scholarship, Sweeney said he'd rather see it go to the second place winner than to go to loss.)